Firefighters first arrived at Sims Metal on Seaport Boulevard around 3 p.m. to tackle a fire that broke out in a pile of scrap and quickly sent plumes of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
Smoke began to drift into Sunnyvale, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District was on scene to monitor the air quality, but people with compromised breathing issues were advised to stay indoors.
According to Redwood City, based on plume modeling, the smoke was heading south along the Bayside coast of San Mateo County, over the Dumbarton Bridge and into Santa Clara County as of 6:30 p.m.
San Mateo County Health officials are not advising residents to shelter in place but recommend that those who are sensitive to smoke to stay indoors, close windows and doors, and ensure that air conditioners and fans are not pulling in air from outdoors.
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Authorities in San Joaquin County have stepped up response to a boat leaking fuel into a Delta waterway on Wednesday.
A unified command with representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the city of Stockton has been formed to respond to the sinking vessel in Little Potato Slough near Stockton.
The sinking ship in the Delta waterway was found leaking fuel and oil into the body of water Wednesday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office first announced.
Aurora, a 293-foot ocean liner ship made in 1955, suffered a hole and began taking on water, causing it to leak diesel fuel and oil into the Delta at Empire Tract and Eight Mile roads in Little Potato Slough.
Initially, the sheriff's boating safety unit and ground units were at the scene attempting to contain the spill, but eventually more agencies arrived to help. According to the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday night, a report to the California Office of Emergency Services on Wednesday indicated the Aurora began to sink in 13 feet of water and discharge pollution, and an oil seen was seen near the vessel.
Authorities employed a containment boom around the vessel and Stockton's drinking water intake pump station, the Coast Guard said. Additional mooring lines have also been attached to the vessel to ensure stability.
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Community advocates rallied at the Antioch Amtrak train station Wednesday calling for officials to reverse their decision to close it.
The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, the body that oversees intercity passenger rail service, voted in March 2023 to close the train station amid concerns of vandalism, safety issues, fare evasion and unhoused individuals using the area for shelter. When the new station in Oakley opens in August 2025, the Antioch station is simultaneously set to close.
S.L. Floyd, housing board commissioner for the city of Pittsburg, showed his support during the rally, noting that many of his city's residents also depend on Amtrak, which connects Antioch to not only workplace destinations in the west but also locations throughout the nation.
Amtrak's local train connects riders from Stockton to Oakland, Stockton to Sacramento, and Stockton to Bakersfield--all places out of reach of direct BART service. The company also has routes from the Bay Area to all across the nation, including one that runs from Washington state through Oregon and down to Southern California; riders can catch that train in Oakland.
"This is a much-needed measure because we're encouraging people to get out of their cars to take public transportation," Floyd said. "Even though they're building a new station in Oakley, we still need the resources and the public support here because many people cannot afford a personal automobile, so they really lean on public transportation."
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Nearly 50 buildings on the U.C. Berkeley campus were without power Wednesday night, according to the university.
Beginning at about 6:30 p.m., the Berkeley campus began experiencing a power outage. At 10 p.m. there were 47 buildings on campus without power with an estimated time of restoral anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.
According to the university, high-voltage electricians were on-site and identified the source of the outage, though the school did not say what it was.
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Santa Rosa police on Tuesday arrested a man after allegedly discovering a concealed gun in his vehicle.
An officer pulled the vehicle over for a suspected code violation at about 11 p.m. near Santa Rosa and Barham avenues.
Police said the sole, 29-year-old occupant consented to a vehicle search.
The officer found a 9mm privately manufactured firearm without a serial number and a loaded Glock magazine and a threaded barrel in the vehicle's center console.
The man was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of an assault weapon.
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The San Francisco Police Department said that 30 people were arrested in its eight nights of operations against crimes related to prostitution.
From May 8 to Sunday, police operated in the areas of Shotwell Street between 18th and 21st streets, and in the area of South Van Ness Avenue and 18th Street. The arrests were made at various locations but originated from these two areas, police said.
Out of 30 adults arrested, 17 were caught paying for sexual acts while the rest were nabbed for accepting money for sexual acts, police alleged.
Investigators said 10 of the arrested were from San Francisco.
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A homeless support group in San Jose is closing down, and members are unsure about whether they will be able to continue their work.
Sacred Heart Community Service shuttered its homelessness organizing committee, Survivors of the Streets (SOS), and let go of the group's organizer, citing dwindling resources. This loss comes at a pivotal moment when various programs are getting off the ground. The program launched in 2019.
Michael Morand, one of the founding members of SOS, said the disbandment is frustrating. He had been spearheading a landscaping and beautification program with San Jose that could give jobs to homeless individuals. He said the committee had just begun gaining momentum when Sacred Heart announced it would be ending.
"For us personally as a group, it was a big loss," Morand told San Jose Spotlight. "As far as the impact it would have on the city and/or the county, it's hard to determine... We came up with some great ideas and had some good things going, so the impact could be huge."
Demone Carter, Sacred Heart's director of community engagement, said some funding programs that began during the COVID pandemic will sunset soon and private donors have been pulling back on funding. In 2021, the nonprofit received more than $49 million in unrestricted revenue. In 2022 it increased to more than $54 million, but dropped to $44 million in 2023.
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A San Francisco man was arrested last week on suspicion of attempting to make inappropriate contact with a minor, police said Wednesday.
John Woods, 44, allegedly contacted a person believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Investigators with the San Francisco Police Special Victims Unit said they developed probable cause to obtain an arrest and search warrant for Woods and his home.
On May 16, police served the search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of Geneva Avenue and Woods was taken into custody.
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The National Weather Service forecast for the greater San Francisco Bay Area for Thursday calls for sunny skies with some clouds.
Daytime highs are expected to be mostly in the 60s to 70s on the coast and around the bay, and in the 70s to 80s inland. Overnight lows will be mostly in the 50s, with some areas dropping into the upper 40s.
Forecasters say summer-like weather conditions will persist through Thursday. Temps are expected to dip below seasonal averages this weekend as an upper level trough affects the region.
According to the NWS, temps will begin to warm Sunday through the next week.
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